Tail Lights
by Scarlet Lupin
Summary: Hiccup is the infamous 'NightFury' leader of 'The Dragons' a gang of fast car loving teens, who drive the police up the wall trying to catch them sometimes literally. What will Hiccup do when the police bring in some outside help to try and apprehend the street racers. Will this be the end of the great legacy of NightFury and for that matter will Hiccup be able to remain anonymous?
1. Chapter 1

Grin widening I turned the wheel and yanked the handbrake up, laughing as I drifted sideways around the bend, the squeal of tires mixing with the shrieking of the police sirens. The chaotic symphony of sound making my heart pound and my mouth go dry. Straightening up I downshifted to get a boost in revs before rocketing round the corner and turning right, the crackle of the police radio in the front seat followed by the jubilant shouts told me the police thought they had a chance of catching me as the road lead to the mountain, which had one way up and one way down. Dirt and dust flew as I roared down the unpaved road, drifting round every steep switchback turn.

A large outcropping of rock provided the perfect cover, sweeping round a wide handbrake turn I killed the engine and waited. Four police car with blaring sirens shot past, and as soon as they were out of site I started the engine back up and made my way back down the mountain.

Tearing through the town I managed to pick up another two police cars and with my new entourage I took off again, leading them on another merry old chase through the small town of Berk. Ahh yes Berk my home, cheerful little place, if you didn't count the pests. They go by 'The Dragons' and I am their leader, yes me, Hiccup horrendous haddock III but they don't know me by that name, no they know me as 'The NightFury'.

Loud and obnoxious horns made me look to the left and I spotted a red sports car pull along side me, huge flames decorated the wheel arches and sides. Smirking at Snotlout and Hookfang I turned to the right and tried not to grin when I spotted Astrid and Stormfly, a sleek blue car with an iridescent finish and yellow spikes dotted here and there. Easing up I waited and sure enough minutes later a humongous 4x4 painted a rather dull looking brown pulling in behind me, that was Fishlegs and Meatlug and announcing themselves with their usual flair, the twins in their twin engine monstrosity called Barf and Belch, swerved in front of me.

Grinning I started accelerating and with a bit of shuffling rearranged the line up so the twins fell in the middle and I led the pack, the police cars numbers slowly increased and after five minutes of driving along the longest road on Berk I flipped my lights off and pulled away from the group. That was the signal to split up and disappear.

At this time of night with the lights off it was impossible for the police to find me, my car who I affectionately called Toothless is a sleek black thing, low to the ground and a little wider than most cars it was aerodynamics personified. Which is why I love this part of the night, pushing the little blue button with an 'S' on it, most would expect a speed boost as some kind of 'sport' mode. However what did happen was the engine went almost silent barely hum to give us away, and that was the wonder of 'stealth mode'.

Spotting the huge lit up sign that said 'Thank you for visiting Berk, please drive safely!' I slowed and turned left off the road just after the sign, there was a large dirt lay-by and then a sheer cliff face, accelerating towards the cliff I ignored the small part of me that screamed every time I did this. The thick vines covering the cliff parted as I drove through them and I flicked the lights back on as I navigated the pitch black tunnel, eventually down shifting and accelerating up the steep ramp that led into a stunning little cove.

Steep stone walls encircled the space and there was a small lake on the far side, slowing down I drove Toothless over to the natural stone overhang that I had reinforced with metal and now used as a garage. Parking and jumping out I stretched and lifted my helmet off, raking my fingers through my sweaty hair I sighed and approached the small and mostly standard car I normally drove. While it would be better for my cover if I drove a piece of junk I just couldn't bare it, Toothless was my car, I built him almost from scratch, so going from driving this work of art to a beaten up piece of junk would be hell, and driving was my joy I don't think I could live driving a car like that more than my baby so my everyday car was a small thing painted a nice shade of green that I called Sharpshot, and was what I drove when I couldn't drive Toothless. Sharpshot was a lot faster the he looked as I had essentially rebuilt his engine to make him go faster, he was by no means even close to Toothless for speed but he was fast enough to surprise people when I pushed it.

Grabbing my bag I changed out of the sleek black leather I would wear when I drove Toothless, and pulled on the battered jeans and green t-shirt I had been wearing this morning. Sliding into the drivers seat I inserted the key into the ignition and the engine purred to life, smiling slightly I drove the small car out of a secondary exit to the cove which lead to a small cave near the main road leading to the garage.

Searching the road I was relieved when I saw it empty, I could still hear sirens in the distance which suggested the others hadn't been able to shake the cops yet. Mentally shrugging I pulled out onto the road, driving away from the garage and back towards town. As I turned onto the main high street I noted the silence, thinking that must mean they guys managed to shake the cops I relaxed a little. Only to wince when I rounded the bend passing the police station and saw Hookfang parked in front of the short building.

Snotlout was not going to be happy tomorrow, not at all. He particularly liked that car and whenever he got caught, his dad always sold the car and bought him something else, but it would never be as good until he brought it down to the garage and asked Gobber to trick it out. Course as soon as he left Gobber would then leave me in charge, yeah I worked at the garage, which was a pretty awesome job actually.

Shaking off the random thoughts I finished the drive back home and then parked in the driveway, sliding out of the seat and slamming the door shut, I shuffled over to the door and unlocked it before almost falling inside. Yawning as I shut and relocked the door, I barely managed to get up the stairs to the bedroom before I flopped face first on my bed and passed out.

* * *

 **AN: Okay so its been a while since I posted anything but here you go, I watched a movie the other day and it gave me the idea for this AU so I hope you all love this, its just a little taster, if I get good feedback i'll write longer chapters but this first one is just a trial I guess. Reviews are very welcome and if you have some ideas for how you want this story to go then let me know.**

 **-SL xx**


	2. Chapter 2

Somehow bright morning sunshine, streaming in through the curtains, landed solidly on my face. I was sorry tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep, when it registered in my sleep fogged brain that if the sun had risen high enough to get in my window, I should probably be up by now. Scrambling out of bed I sprinted through the shower nearly slipping and falling at least three times, yanking on some clothes and tripping my way down the stairs I raced past the kitchen and then paused and back tracked. Blinking at the calendar I realised it was Sunday, groaning I peered at the clock and saw it read 7:45am. Sighing I kicked my shoes back off, and walked over to the kettle to make some coffee and wake up properly.

Sitting at the table sipping coffee with a plate of toast in front of me, I watched the local news and was wholly unsurprised when there was a short segment on Snotlout getting busted again for street racing. What always got me was the penalty in Berk for racing was a steep fine, which the Jorgensen's could easily afford, and yet the whole town treated the subject as some huge deal and specifically him. They really wanted the Nightfury caught, it was almost comical how hard they tried and how well they did at failing. As if summoned the loud tones of a police announcement caught my attention and I peered at the screen as it zoomed in on chief Haddock, yes my dad, giving a speech.

 _"The menace that is Nightfury has plagued our streets for too long and now we will make it an even bigger priority to capture him, his identity is still unknown as even under close questioning his associates couldn't identify him. However, we have called in a few favours to get the help of a neighbouring village's police force, and we will now be conducting night patrols to increase our chances of capturing this elusive criminal."_

 _Stepping slightly to one side the chief of police gestured to the behemoth standing next to him, "this is chief Red, from The Nest. They had a severe problem with street racing however after Red came into power there, he was able to completely destroy their racing circles in less than a week! Soon we will have Nightfury in our custody and the streets will once more be safe to roam at night."_

Blinking I gaped at the TV, this 'Red' guy destroyed a racing community in a week! I was so screwed. Standing I took my empty dishes to the sink as I muttered "da da da I'm dead!" For a long moment I stared at the soapy water and my distorted reflection staring back at me, and tried to imagine my dad's reaction if he found out I was Nightfury. Cringing I shook my head, not ready for the nightmares that would create.

But honestly I could see no way for me to remain in Berk and not end up being outed as The Nightfury. Remain in Berk...Why did I need to remain in Berk? I could just pack up and leave and know one would ever know. And honestly what was holding me here? I could make up some excuses to leave and Nightfury wasn't seen every night, so it would be a little while before they realised Nightfury was gone, which ment they might not connect the dots of me leaving and 'Nightfury' leaving.

Nodding slowly I was determined to leave that night, but that ment I needed supplies and what was I going to do about Sharpshot, because it was clear I wasn't going to be leaving Toothless behind.

Then the image of Hookfang at the impound flashed through my mind, suddenly replaced with Stormfly and then Meatlug and Barf and Belch, finally setting back on that image of Hookfang. If I left I was just leaving the others to face Red all on their own, I couldn't run away. Immediately my mind was filled with ideas and plans, if I couldn't leave then Red would have to be the one to leave and there was no way I could do it on my own. I needed to call a meeting of The Dragons.

Nodding determinedly I grabbed my car keys and the lightweight toolbox I used for modifications to Toothless, as well as a rucksack I filled with food, I was now prepared to spend a day at the cove working on enhancing Toothless even more. We had to be the fastest and the best, we had to, or the days of The Dragons would be over.

Yanking on my trainers I stepped out my door still pulling on my left shoe and nearly fell on Sharpshot as I tried to shut the front door, get the shoe on and open the drivers side door all at the same time. Pausing I straightened up, kicking my foot to get the shoe on better, as I slammed and locked the front door, before unlocking Sharpshot and scrambling in. Starting the engine up, I pulled out of the driveway and started driving towards the garage entrance to the cove. Being very careful to keep me speed exactly on, or just below the speed limit.

The trip passed almost completely normally, if seeing Snotlout stomping around town with Fishlegs and the Twins trailing along behind him was normal, which it wasn't.

Mentally shrugging I urged Sharpshot faster as soon as I left the town limits, quickly approaching the cave turning. Speeding along the dark and gloomy tunnels I sighed when I entered the small cove area and parked Sharpshot next to Toothless. Killing the engine and jumping out of the car I slid the bag and tools out of the back seat and immediately got to work on Toothless popping the bonnet and switching on the little LED light that I hung from the ceiling.

After 8 gruelling hours of work and 2 hours of anxious waiting, the sun was just beginning to set and I was so relieved it was nearing the end of September because if it had been earlier in the year I would have had to wait until nearly 10pm for darkness, instead of 6pm.

Sliding on the solid black crash helmet I dropped into the leather seat and turned the key in the ignition, grinning like a loon at the thunderous roar the engine gave as it came to life. Easing my way out of the covered garage, I sped up as I made my way towards the tunnel leading to the out of town exit, and as soon as I flicked the lights on took off. The roar of the engine echoing back at me increasing the sound a thousand fold, leaving me smiling stupidly behind the tinted visor.

Exiting the tunnel through the vines I turned towards town and turned the stereo on, blasting 'Crazy Crazy Nights' by Kiss as loud as possible while I made a full circuit around town before heading towards the mountain, shutting of the music half way there. The shape of the red tail lights in front of me told me Fishlegs had heard the summons, as he was the only one with perfectly round tail lights. Nodding I trailed along behind him all the way up the mountain and parked next to him when we got to the large flat viewing area at the top.

I waited patiently in my car, engine idling, for the others to get here. It wasn't long before everyone was gathered, Snotlout managed to catch a lift with Astrid, although she didn't seem particularly happy about that. I waited for a moment longer after they had all got out, before exiting my car.

"So why did you call us here? Is it about that guy, Red?"

Moving to stand in front of my headlights, leaving me heavily backlit I nodded and said "he needs to go."

"Why? We can just drive circles around him just like we do to the local police."

Tuffnutt snorted and muttered "yeah donuts in their impound yard, cos Hookfang isn't going anywhere."

"Why I aught to..."

"Enough!" Everyone turned to face Astrid as she stood silhouetted by her own cars head lights, eyes narrowed and hands on hips she made an imposing sight. "We all know, who the best driver here is." Ignoring Snotlout's attempt to interrupt she continued "Nightfury is the only one who has never been caught, all of us have had to pay fines at least twice. The only one who drives circles around the police is Nightfury."

Nodding in thanks I was about to speak when Ruffnutt suddenly spoke up "okay sure he's a good driver but we don't even know who he is, has this bothered no one else?"

Blinking I realised everyone appeared slightly uncomfortable, and wouldn't look in my direction. "Is that what you want? To know my identity?"

"Yes."

Studying Fishlegs I wanted to just say no and walk away, but I knew I had been pushing my luck going this long without telling them. "My identity will go no further than you five, understood?"

"Yes"

"Definitely"

"Of course"

"Sure thing boss man."

"Hey I was gonna say that, troll!"

"Butt elf!"

"AHHHHH!"

Raising an eyebrow I watched the twins scuffle for a few minutes before there was a loud groan and Ruffnutt stood up, while her brother remained curled up on the ground. Moaning he muttered "I am hurt, I am very much hurt."

"Right, well here goes nothing." Reaching up I pulled the helmet off and for a long moment I watched them all squint, trying to make out my face. Sighing I stepped closer to Astrid allowing her cars headlights to illuminate me.

"Hiccup?!"

Laughing nervously I tugged my fingers through my hair and winced when I could see them all looking me over, judging me. "Hey guys."

"Wait we took orders from Hiccup?!"

"Hiccup? Whats Hiccup doing here?" Everyone shot Tuffnutt an irritated look and ignored his comment.

"Yeah we did, and you know what? He is an amazing leader and an even better driver. So maybe when he isn't in a car he's a bit pathetic, but he has skills and while part of his performance is the car, the car can only do so much, the rest has to be the driver." Lifting her hand she pointed at me and said "he is the only one to never get caught! If we want to keep racing at night we need him."

"How do we even know Hiccup is really Nightfury and that the real Nightfury didn't switch with fake Hiccup Nightfury for tonight because he knew we would want to know his identity."

"Uh cos thats stupid."

"Well actually it is quite a sensible and logical assumption, and well we didn't really see Hiccup do any amazing driving skills tonight."

Shooting Fishlegs a betrayed look I sighed and said "I'll take one of you for a ride."

"Oh oh oh oh me me me me pick me!"

"Yeah no sorry I have far too many buttons I really don't want you pushing. Fishlegs? Astrid? You two I trust not to push random buttons."

"Im good I don't really think I want a ride in a car that small, I much prefer my sturdy Meatlug."

"Astrid?"

"I'm good to go."

"Right then lets go."

Turning towards the car I pulled the helmet back on and slid into the drivers seat, revving the engine a little to signal I was ready. I swallowed thickly when Astrid got in, I watched her for a second as she took in the interior of the famous Nightfury's car. When she didn't move for a second I cleared my throat and gestured to the seatbelt. Rolling her eyes she buckled up and soon as the belt clicked into place I floored it. Dust flew as I pushed us into a series of tight donuts around the middle of the clearing and then drifted sideways between Stormfly and Meatlug, lining us up perfectly for the slope leading down the mountain.

Laughing I pushed the limits of Toothless, pebbles and gravel spraying the mountain side, a long dust storm left in our wake and all the while never seeming even a little nervous at the steep drop to our left as well careened around 180' bends. Astrid released a petrified squeak about two thirds of the way down the road, glancing over I laughed lightly at her rigid posture and white face. Scowling at me she whacked my arm, then looked positively ill as the car swerved a little.

"No distracting the driver when we're doing 65 on switchbacks, thank you."

"AHHHHHHH this was a terrible idea!"

"You wanted a ride with Nightfury, now you're getting a ride with Nightfury."

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 **AN: Okay so slightly longer chapter, how is it guys? I plan to get Hiccup to meet 'Red' next time and maybe some more evading of the police Im not sure, I will probably just carry on right where I left off so, please review.**

 **-SL xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

Weaving through the last remnants of the days traffic I endeavoured to show off for Astrid, drifting around bends and accelerating to incredible speeds. All the while the engine roared out to the whole city, notifying everyone that the Nightfury was out and about tonight and having a good time. Predictably after about ten minutes of fun the sound of police sirens pierced the night air, and the brilliant flash of red and blue lights illuminated the inside of the car.

Rolling my eyes heavenwards, I turned sharply heading down a small and quite narrow lane. Dodging trash cans and popping out on a small housing estate at the other end, I turned left heading back on myself. Picking up speed I shot down the road, pushing Toothless and sure enough we made it out the other end and back onto the main road in time to see the police, still at the other end of the high street, all trying to turn around at the same time and getting in each others way.

Snorting I pulled out and honked the horn, waving out the window as well just to rub it in a little as we sped off.

This time it wasn't sirens or flashing lights but the roar of an enormous engine that tipped me off to our pursers, checking my review mirror, I saw a huge red monstrosity. It was sleek and sported chrome spikes, but was easily bigger than Fishlegs's car Meatlug. Balking slightly I floored it, careening down the road and round bends so fast it would be impossible for them to follow. Or it would have been if the car wasn't seemingly indestructible, as they just plowed through the edges of buildings, ripping of large chunks of brickwork.

"Shit shit, shit, shit." Head swivelling I searched for a new rout, something more twisty and that would be harder for them to follow me down.

"What do we do?" I winced at the anxious tone to Astrid voice.

Grimacing I strained my mind trying to think of something, anything that would work. Gaze flickering to the little blue stealth button I considered it, at such close quarters it would be useless. I needed to be out of sight, even if only for a few seconds, in order to disappear, as well as more space and shadows. Spotting the only mall in town, an idea slowly started form.

"Something stupid." Turning the wheel sharply I sent us shooting down into the underground car park, almost immediately flicking the lights off and stealth mode on. So when the huge red behemoth roared in after me, they found a seemingly deserted car park.

"WELL DONE NIGHTFURY, CLEVER TACTIC BUT IVE SEEN IT BEFORE AND THIS HIDING METHOD HAS ONE DRAW BACK, NO MOBILITY!"

Smiling I slowly inched forwards, creeping along behind them, sharing a cheeky grin with Astrid over their stupidity. The red monstrosity weaved slowly, going down every row and as soon as we came back in line with the exit, I carefully peeled off and cruised casually out of the garage and along the streets. Inching up the speed, I left us in stealth mode as we made it back to the mountain and I proceeded to scared the crap out of Astrid again.

Sliding sideways back into my original parking space, I grinned as I got out and tugged the helmet off, leaning back on my door. I had to swallow hard trying not to laugh, as Astrid very slowly got out of the car and leaned over, looking just a little green.

"Well how was it? Do I pass muster?"

"He is most definitely Nightfury, Oh my gods how are you not feeling ill after all that?"

Smirking I said "simple, I do it all the time."

"Well yeah I know you're out most nights with us but still, you don't normally do that much crazy stuff."

"No but then some nights I go out with stealth mode on and no one is ever the wiser I was even out, except for a few new skid marks on the road which no one ever really notices, I'm completely untraceable if I want to be."

"Wow, that is like insanely cool."

"Yeah, for once I agree with the twins. I think that was some of the most insane driving I have ever seen, let alone experienced. You know I think with Hiccup's help we could actually do this." At everyones blank looks she clarified "get rid of this 'Red' guy, before he kills of our fun."

"Yeah! To the defeat of the Red fun killer!"

"That is a terrible name."

"What?! No it isn't, its the best name!"

Rolling my eyes heavenwards, I got back in Toothless ready to go back to the cove, so I didn't have to deal with the twins any more.

x

Loud beeping intruded on my peaceful sleep and with absolutely no enthusiasm, I rolled out of bed. Staggering my way towards the shower, I washed and dressed for the day, before heading down stairs to get some much needed coffee.

Two mugs of coffee and a slice of toast later, I was significantly more awake. Grabbing my keys, phone and wallet I exited the house and made my way to Sharpshot, hopping in and starting the engine up, I made my way to the garage.

Fondly referred to as 'the forge' as it was essentially where everything metal was constructed for our town, the garage was where every car in the town got repaired and modified. Having worked there since I was old enough to hold a spanner I knew a lot about cars, which was why when I saw the lump of rust up on the ramps, I laughed. I really wish I hadn't now.

Standing behind the middle aged balding man I shook my violently, mouthing 'no'. Pulling out my best puppy dog eyes, I attempted to plead for mercy, desperate to change my boss's mind. Oh he hadn't said anything yet, but the gleam in his eyes told me he was going to say yes to the customer.

"You want me to fix that?"

"Yes."

"The only way to fix that is to chuck it and replace it, I don't think theres enough car there to repair."

"It was my great-grandfather's car and I want it for sentimental reasons. It doesn't need to run really well, I'm not asking for miracles, I just want it to look like it used to."

"I'll see what I can do, but its gonna cost you."

"Money isn't an issue."

"Okay then, give me a couple of weeks and i'll let you know how its coming."

I watched the customer leave and shot Gobber a betrayed look, "did you not see me?"

"I saw, I just chose to ignore you. Now get to work lad, it looks like this one is gonna be a tough one."

Glaring at the hunk of rust, I was sorely tempted to just beat it to pieces with a mallet, but I restrained myself. Grabbing a wrench and spanner, I set to dismantling what was left of the exhaust system. I was essentially going to have to do to this car what I had done to Toothless, rebuild it from scratch.

x

There was a very insistent nudging at my foot, which was seriously beginning to get on my nerves. So sliding my self out from under the car, I glared up at the perpetrator, which just so happened to be one tall blonde haired, blue eyed girl named Astrid.

"Oh. Uh h..hey Astrid. What are you doing here?" Smiling slightly I had to admit I was proud of myself, I used to be such a wreck every time she spoke to me. But now she was less rude and knowing she respected me a bit more and not just Nightfury, made it possible for me to actually talk to her, with out spontaneously combusting on the spot.

"Hey Hiccup I came to see if you were free to hang out? You know maybe get some coffee of something, and Stormfly could do with a check over."

I could feel the heat in my cheeks and I desperately wanted to say yes, but I couldn't ditch work "I would love to really, but as you can see this is going to be taking up a lot of time." Gesturing at the lump of rust I was still in the middle of dismantling in my attempt to fix it.

"Right, well good luck with making 'that' run again." Laughing slightly as she left, and I scowled after her. I was beginning to wonder if I had 'doormat' tattooed on my forehead, as everyone seemed to think they were entitled to walk all over me.

Grumbling I got back to the disassembly, trying to work out from looking at it how the engine would come out, and what else I would need to take out first.

x

The rest of the week passed in much the same way, working on the rust lump all day and then driving by night. So when the customer finally came and checked on the progress, I was relieved when he was very pleased. Meaning Gobber gave me the afternoon off, I was free to go. Tugging off the stained overalls I made my way towards the town library as I had some research to do.

Booting up one of the small computers I typed into the search bar 'Local racing circuits destroyed' and waited. After a few minutes several pages loaded, however one was a link to a town newspaper. 'The Nest News' which was from the nearby town 'The Nest' which was our nearest neighbour, It was also where Red came from.

Clicking on the link, I skimmed the article slowly growing more horrified. The newspaper was very flattering of the lead officer on the street racing case, which was unsurprisingly 'Red'. I kept reading to the end and was dumbstruck by what I found, he didn't stop the racers, he destroyed them. The Nest had a similar policy to Berk, which fined racers when they were caught. However when 'Red' was involved, no racer was ever caught. They all mysteriously died in accidents while being apprehended, although there was never any witnesses to what 'Red' claimed was just an accident. but after more than half the racers died the rest refused to race anymore, and so the street racers of The Nest were no more.

"By the gods, I have to tell the others about this." Shutting down the computer I sprinted out of the library, ignoring the shout of the librarian to 'slow down young man'.

Almost throwing myself into Sharpshot I fished out my phone and dialled Snotlout's number, I only had it because he is my cousin and I had yet to exchange numbers with the rest of the gang. It rang three times before Snotlout picked up "whats up cousin?"

"I have info everyone needs to hear."

"Huh?"

"I found out some interesting details about 'Red' and the guys need to hear about it, like yesterday Snotlout hurry up. Meeting at the usual place, inconspicuously."

"On it cuz."

Hanging up, I turned the engine on and drove as fast as I dared to the mountain, arriving well before the others.

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 **AN: Okay here it is guys the latest chapter, what do you think? Is it any good? Please let me know, your reviews mean the world to me. A good review can make my day, even its like three words long. Anyway its not as long as I wanted it to be, but I struggled with this for a while as Ive got a bit of a cold and yeah. I figured you guys wanted to read some more so I will try and get to work on the next chapter. Im not really expecting this story will be many chapters long probably like five or six. By the way I need to know who thinks Hiccup and Astrid should get together Im very flexible about this so ideas would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Thank you for reading, I love all of you my wonderful readers! See ya later!**

 **-SL xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

The loud roar of twin engines signalled the arrival of the Ruffnutt and Tuffnutt. As the pair got off their conjoined bikes I straightened from my slouched position and said "what part of inconspicuously do you not understand?"

"Oh good you can explain it, cos we were like wondering what it ment."

Slapping a hand against my face, I dragged my palm downwards as I tried to school my features into something less aggravated. "Oh my gods. It means quietly and without attracting attention to yourselves."

"Oooooh."

"I think we managed quite well, brother dearest."

"Yeah me too, sister mine, me too."

I was saved from having to deal with the twins insanity, by the arrival of Astrid. "Hey Hiccup whats kind of emergency happened for us to have to meet up again so soon?"

Sighing in relief that I could at least rely on Astrid to be professional, I got ready to explain everything, at least then she could help me explain it to Snotlout and the twins. "Well I went to the library..."

"Oh gods, you dragged us up here to tell us you went to the library, don't you do that like all the time Hiccup?"

"No...yes...ugh..that is not the point Tuffnutt! I was trying to tell you guys, that I found out some very interesting information on 'Red' from the library. Specifically how he disbanded the street racing circuits."

Before I could continue, the roar of two more engines arriving cut me off, as Snotlout and Fishlegs rounded the bend and parked up.

"Okay cuz whats so urdent you needed us here that fast?"

"Snotlout I think its urgent not urdent."

"Shut it Fishlegs, no one cares."

"Anyway..." Pausing till I had everyones attention I said "he is killing off the racers."

"WHAT?!"

Grimacing at my still ringing ears from the multiple loud shouted exclamations, from different directions, I repeated myself. "'Red' is killing of racers in the circuits until the group disbands, due to either lack of numbers or fear. That is why he is so successful, of course all the deaths were reported as accidental. Crashes in the heat of a high speed chase and such, but he has never in all his career brought in a racer alive. All of them died and that statistic kinda ruled out coincidence. I know racing is dangerous but these people knew their cities, they wouldn't make rookie mistakes that get you killed. At least not without external influence."

"Hiccup this is huge! What are we going to do? We have to tell someone..."

Sighing I pulled at my hair slightly I knew Astrid was right but I had no idea what I could possibly do to fix the problem. The only way 'Red' would leave was if we stopped racing and none of us wanted that, but was it worth their lives. I knew I would race to the ends of the earth if I could, it was my only escape, but I would never ask that of my friends. "I don't know, we might just have to stop racing. At lease for now, until 'Red' leaves."

"You're just giving up?!"

Grimacing I rubbed at my neck, now I wish I had never told them who I was. It had always been much easier to lead the group when I had been the mighty NightFury, and not just Hiccup. "Look I don't know what to do and is racing really worth your lives?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had made a mistake. "Our lives? What about your life?..."

"I know its smaller and not as meaning full as ours but still Hiccup, I didn't think you would put cheep thrills over living."

Shooting Snotlout a dirty look Astrid continued "Is racing really worth your life?"

Clenching my fist I tried to tamp down the anger but it didn't work, the rage burst out anyway. "YES!" Chest heaving I tried to slow my breathing and calm down but it wasn't really working very well. "Yes, racing is worth my life. You want to know why? Because racing is my life, to stop would be like trying to stop breathing. For me I spend all day hiding who I am and only get to relax at night, when we race. For you it is just fun, a hobby that lets you rebel and shirk your responsibilities."

"Hiccup..."

Narrowing my gaze I whipped around, yanking the door open and getting back in my car. Revving the engine to life I floored it, tearing around the switch back bends, getting heart stoping-ly close to the edge of the road and the vertical drop below. When I finally got to the bottom of the hill, I found a small army of police cars waiting for me. Slamming the brakes on, I screeched to a halt, dust and small pebbles getting sprayed everywhere.

Sparing a brief glance at the back seat I was surprised for moment when I saw no police radio I was sure I had dumped it in the back seat when I took Astrid for a ride, that when I noticed the very different dashboard. Rolling my eyes I waited patiently for something to happen, as my gaze tracked over the surroundings taking in everything.

"GET OUT OF THE CAR AND PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"

"Yeah how about no?" Grinning at my own sarcastic wit, I considered the flat bed tow-truck. All ready and waiting to cart away my pride and joy, clearly they were feeling very confident. They even had the gate lowered and ready to drive the car onto. The truck was nestled between two police cruisers, both of which had even more police cars on their other sides. All together they formed an impressive semi circle around the bottom of the mountain road.

For a long second I considered Astrid words earlier _'Is racing really worth your life?'_ And just like before I came to the conclusion that "Yes it is!" Flooring it I drove straight towards the lowered gate of the tow-truck. The front tires barely touching the ramp, before I started to turn the wheel. The turn causing the whole vehicle and myself to go flying off the edge of the bed of the truck, glancing off the roof of a police cruiser before hitting the ground heavily, out side the circle of police cars. Not feeling like hanging around I stomped on the accelerator, kicking up a huge dust cloud as I took off back towards the town.

xxx

It had taken quite a few hours of circling, doubling back and parking up, to evade all of the police cars but eventually I was able to make it back to the cove without leading anyone there. Slowly getting out of the car I started looking him over searching for any bumps or scrapes, that had been a rather harsh landing coming off the truck bed.

Spotting a bit of loose trim I leaned down and peered under the car, grimacing as the level of damage I could see straight away was far more than the tools here could cope with. Which ment I would need to do another secret trip to Gobber's garage to fix the damage, I hadn't done many after I nearly got caught by Astrid the first time. It was very much for emergencies and severe damage only.

Sliding back out from under the car I grimaced and wondered just what I was going to do now, the police had seen my car. It wouldn't take much to link my car to me and then I was going to be royally screwed. Praying for a miracle I unlocked Toothless and turned the volume on the police radio way up, I was hoping to hear what they were doing about finding out whose car they had almost caught tonight.

 **/...I'm calling off the search for tonight, we've lost him. We'll keep the regular patrols out tonight with back up on standby but we clearly missed our chance tonight.../ /...Roger that, Ill post the usual alert for the Nightfury.../ /...Hold on, our racer tonight looked to be in a different car, so it could be a new upstart.../ /...Roger that can we get a description.../ /...The new** **car was smaller, clearly built for speed and looked to be khaki coloured with some kind of pattern to it, possibly camouflage. I would say it was possibly a stinger with some modifications.../ /...Roger that I'll put a new bolo out.../**

Turning the radio back down I slumped as the tension finally left me, gods it had been stupid to go and meet everyone still in Sharpshot. I could have completely blown my cover, I was just incredibly lucky the dust had disguised my car enough to be mistaken for a different colour and the small size and speed had caused them to mistake a terror for a stinger. Glancing at the still dust covered car in question I sighed and grabbed a bucket so I could set about cleaning as much of the dust off as possible.

20 minutes later and Sharpshot was finally clean, but the damage was much easier to see now. Most of the trim along the left side was scuffed and there was a large section just behind the wheel arch that had been damaged, almost ripped all the way off. Stepping back from the car, I grabbed some strong glue and a roll of tape. Sitting next to the damaged trim, I set about straightening it as much as possible. When it was as close to right as I could get it, I used a rag to clean the inside and edges before glueing the trim back into place, using the tape to help secure it from the inside. Sliding out from under the car I started cleaning up, that was as good a patch job as I could do from here, the rest I would need to do at Gobber's garage.

Rubbing my face, I peeked at the small alarm clock resting on top of one of my work benches. The little red blinking numbers proudly proclaimed it to be 4:57 am, it looked like I had enough time for a shower and maybe a brief nap. Grimacing and cursing under my breath, I slid back into Sharpshot and headed home.

xxx

This day had just gone from bad, to the worst day ever. First Gobber had yelled at me for being late to work after I had overslept during my 'nap', and then there was this.

"...Of all the irresponsible..pig headed...stubborn...reckless things to do..."

"Stoik, calm down! I'm sure its just all that teenage angst, boiling to the surface, causing a little rebellion. Its a phase I tell you, He'll grow out of it. There is no need to get so worked up over it."

"Gobber like it or not he is the chiefs son and what he does reflects on me, reflects on Berk. His little rebellion will cause problems with our allies and trade partners, not to mention the local populace. Who is going to trust a police chief who can't even control his own son let alone a whole town."

Feeling a little vindictive I muttered "I'm not sure most of them even realise you have a son, you talk about me sooooo much."

"You think is funny! That its some kind of joke!" Chest heaving he glared steadily at me, "your right. I don't have a son. You are not my son."

Freezing I stared at where he was stood, I must have misheard because as much as my farther was irritated with me and didn't know what to do with me most of the time he would never disown me like that. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me." And with that parting statement, he stalked out of the holding cell. Hesitating briefly Gobber shot me an apologetic look, before hurrying out after my dad.

For several long seconds I just stared at the closed door, they didn't even know the worst bit. They just thought I had gone on a crazy one night joy ride with the other racers, they didn't even consider that I could be the mighty Night Fury. I have no idea how, but Red had managed to get a hold of some security footage from one of the buildings I parked up next to while dodging the police last night and after some careful analysis, had been able to get a plate number.

Which led to him leading a group of cops to come and arrest me, and now here I was sat in a police interrogation room after being chewed out and disowned by my dad. All in all it had been a good day.

* * *

 **AN: Okay I am soooo sorry it has taken me this long to update. I have just been super uninspired and then yesterday while I was driving the inspiration just hit, like BOOM and so voila...new chapter! I hope you liked it. I know the last bit was a tad sudden but we are winding up for the final battle and I alway hate writing filler stuff so I** **like to get right into the action. I hope you don't mind. Please review for me and tell me what you think. Cheers!**

 **-SL xxxx**


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